


Much Ado About Lobsters

by JustJules, squirrelroyalty



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Nonbinary Grantaire, Other, Trans Enjolras, We're sorry, lobster Grantaire, merman Enjolras, we'd love to apologise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8163232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustJules/pseuds/JustJules, https://archiveofourown.org/users/squirrelroyalty/pseuds/squirrelroyalty
Summary: "Why couldn't they be like their sisters? Why couldn't they have a beautiful tail?R looked at their greenish pincers. They hated them so much. " 
Based on this  post





	

**Author's Note:**

> We did it! Your lobster!Grantaire fic is here. We're really sorry, Les Mis fandom.  
> Big thanks to [Jeffrey](http://probably-pride-related.tumblr.com) for helping us with the title.
> 
> Say hi to us on tumblr: [ Hal ](http:/queersette.tumblr.com) and [ Jules ](http://enjolra-s.tumblr.com)

Ugly, horrible, impossible, disgrace to the whole town. How many times had they heard that before? They knew that they would never find a spouse and that their father would never call them his child. They dragged themselves to the nearest cave and sat down on the flat stone. Why couldn't they be like their sisters? Why couldn't they have a beautiful tail?

R looked at their greenish pincers. They hated them so much. 

They couldn’t do anything with them, they couldn’t pick up a seashell and show it to their friends (those two friends they had…), they couldn’t trail fingers behind them as they swam, they couldn’t even hold anyone’s hand. Every time they had tried to reach out to someone or help out they just ended up hurting someone. It was a miracle that Joly and Bossuet hadn’t left him like everyone else but rather didn’t seem scared of them and stood up for them one brilliant day. For one day they hoped that they could finally fit into their home. But it was no use. They were just the ugly mistake that had brought disgrace on their family and town. 

Family.

The word tasted bitter on their tongue. Their mother had never even bothered to check up on them and their father prefered never to speak of his “failings” and hide R in dark corners of the palace whilst their siblings danced and shined in the light. Some family that was. 

Today had been the last straw. 

Breakfast had been terrible, sniggers from their siblings as he walked up to the table, late again, rather than swimming over smoothly like the rest of them. Then his father got angry over the fact that Grantaire couldn’t eat with decorum that was expected of them. Of course they couldn’t. It wasn’t like anyone had taken the time to try and work out the best for R to eat with pincers but rather they were just expected to work around this “small inconvenience”. And then it had somehow gotten even worse. They had wanted to go outside and meet Joly and Bossuet but they didn’t manage to find them but rather walked the streets, ignoring the whispered comments they received every day. But today they went further than just whispers. Some had yelled out that they were a mistake, that their parents never loved them and that their look was the reason why their mother left them. Soon everyone started yelling insults and obscenities at them and slowly backing them down an alley, shoving and reaching out to hurt them. They curled up into themselves, hoping that their shell, as odious as it was, would protect them from the worst of the blows. 

They didn’t know how much time past but eventually they heard the crowd leaving. 

They whimpered. It was finally over.

They didn’t want to have to go through this every time. 

It wasn’t their fault.

Maybe it was their fault though…

Their fault that no one wanted to be around them or even like them. After all who could love a monster? 

Nothing that they did was ever going to be good enough to fix their mistakes. 

So they ran away hoping that no one would ever find them. They passed their castle, the houses they knew and soon they were in the middle of the nowhere. But they didn't stop. They couldn't. Grantaire didn't know how long they had been swimming but soon it began to dusk and it was impossible to continue their journey.  

They looked around. There was nothing but a few rocks near them. They couldn't see any lights, so they must have been far away from the kingdom. They snickered. Maybe they would die here and no one would find their body.  

Then they noticed the cave. They swam to it and examined it carefully – it was rather small and narrow, but somehow they managed to sat down in it. The stone walls were sharp and were scratching their back, but they didn't mind. At least they found their new home. They closed their eyes and slowly started to fall asleep. 

Suddenly they heard someone’s voice. R straightened and looked around - they had never heard such a beautiful voice before. It couldn't be any of their friends. That wasn’t surprising – why would they even look for them?  

The voice spoke again and now Grantaire could hear what the person was saying. 

''Stupid stupidity. They can't tell me what to do.'' 

They wanted to see the owner of the most beautiful voice in the kingdom. They imagined what a person could look like and then they realised that in fact during their short life they had seen only few merfolk. They met their siblings and father only during breakfast on feast days. There were days on which the only thing they had seen were their own reflection on the old, shattered mirror. Their reflection… They hated it so much. Not only the pincers and tail were the problem. Their hair wasn't beautiful, it looked like an algae and Grantaire always envied their siblings who had long and fair curls. Their eyes were green, just like their tail. A plain green that was reflected everywhere in their world from the plankton near the surface to the algae covering the stones. No one wanted to see more green. Everything would be so easier if they were beautiful.

''I'm not their possession!'' the voice spoke again louder this time and Grantaire's heart skipped a beat. Why were they so attracted to the complete stranger's voice? An unwanted voice told them that maybe this time it'd be different, that maybe the person would talk to them as if they were a normal creature and wouldn't care what they looked like? They leant out of the cave and looked around. They expected to see two or more people listening to the owner of the voice. It held so much authority that it seemed obvious. But they were wrong – in front of them was only a beautiful blond mermaid swimming towards his cave. The creature was wearing a long shirt on the fragile, tanned body and their tail was red. The person's hair was blond and curly and Grantaire wanted to run their… uh… pincers through that beautiful hair. But they couldn't. They would never be happy and no one could fall in love with them. They hid in the cave and sat down on the sand hoping that the creature hadn't noticed them. Unfortunately few seconds later they heard the voice again.

''Who's there?''

They didn't reply. Because what could they say?  _ 'Hi, it's only me – Grantaire, half-lobster half-human. They/them pronouns, please'. _

''Don't hide please.''

They weren't hiding. They were just… umm… admiring the beautiful sand in the cave. Trying to press themselves against the back wall and ignore the temptation of the voice speaking to them.

''My name is Enjolras. And yours?'' 

_ Enjolras. _ They pronounced the name quietly. They had never heard it before. The knowledge of the beautiful stranger’s name convinced him to move. Grantaire stepped out of the cave and looked at the creature. They were so beautiful – the tips of their ears were reddish, there were small, multicoloured freckles on their cheeks and the long shirt (probably stolen from the sailor) was covering their upper body. 

''I'm… Grantaire.''

The creature smiled slightly. ''It's nice to meet you, Grantaire. But… Why were you hiding?''

Grantaire drew a breath and watched the small bubbles flow in the water. ''I don’t know you. I thought that maybe you want to laugh at me or something…'' Grantaire slapped themselves mentally. Why did they even tell them about it? They were basically asking for pity. 

''Why would I? There's nothing funny about hiding in the cave.'' They were shocked. The stranger had grabbed the wrong end of the stick about why they should be laughing at Grantaire. Maybe they were blind and couldn’t see their hideous face. Maybe they had a chance. 

''I… it's not important. And I use they/them pronouns. I'd be really grateful if you used them.'' they said in a small voice and looked up at the creature.

''He/him, please.'' Enjolras grinned at them. 

“And what are you doing here? It's pretty late and there's nothing here.''

The merman avoided their look.“What are  _ you _ doing out here?” He seemed to shrink into himself as soon as the words left his mouth. “Sorry I didn’t mean for that to sound so confrontational.” He wrapped his arms around his middle and absent-mindedly started playing with the scales on his tail. “I uhm… So like I’m trans right? And like my parents didn’t want to loose their “baby girl” and they never liked my friends, something about how they are all lesser creatures because they’re not fucking merfolk, like  _ that _ is some kind of standard, and they have “influenced” me into thinking I’m trans which is a load of octopus ink. I couldn’t deal with it anymore so I’m running away.”

“Oh.” Grantaire managed to say.  Why did he tell them about it? He could have just lied and left. Instead the merman had told them all about his life and family and expected nothing in return. R sighed. 

‘’You’re really brave.’’ they whispered. “I could never do that… I could never do a lot of thing…”

Enjolras tilted his head and looked at them. ‘’Tell me your story. Why are you here?”

This was the deciding moment. They could make up some story or tell him the truth. 

It was the least they could do to was respect the amount of trust Enjolras had given them.

“My father is the king and I’m just his mistake. I’m the only person in my family, hell in the whole capital who isn’t a perfect merfolk ready to follow the King’s ever order. I’m hated. Which isn’t that surprising. But yeah, I, uhm... I mean… I’ve never had it easy or anything. I mean everyone hates me but they had never gone before just words and uhm…” The rest of Grantaire’s explanation died in their throat when they glanced up at Enjolras and saw the anger in his eyes. It wasn’t the intensity of those bright blue eyes that made Grantaire’s breath hitch but the intention in them. For once that anger wasn’t directed at them but rather at the people who had hurt them. R couldn’t deal with that.

“I’ll make them pay Grantaire.” 

They didn’t know what to say.

It wasn’t just the statement.

It was the amount of compassion and righteous anger. It was the fact that Enjolras that had held Grantaire’s gaze without whilst he said those words. It was the knowledge that Enjolras meant that with every fibre of his being. 

The glorious time that Joly and Bossuet had defended them seemed paltry in comparison to what Enjolras was offering. 

“Thank you” they said in a small voice, trying to convey how much they appreciated it and how much they appreciated him and - oh, they realised that it wasn’t just that he was pretty or nice or passionate. Enjolras was all of them and he would never think of them in the same way, this jumble of feelings and love and hope that would cut them open from the inside.

“It’s the least I can do Grantaire.” Enjolras replied, the anger still present in his voice and face but he relaxed when he saw Grantaire’s smile and smiled back at him. “Do you want to tell me a bit about yourself? Like what are you interested in?”

Grantaire swallowed the lump in their throat, no one had taken an interest in them before but they could trust Enjolras now. After all he had offered to fight for him.

So they took a breath breathe and dove in. 

They hardly realised how much time had passed until Enjolras was shivering next to him, the sun now longer doing anything to stop the cold current that swirled around the cave. 

“You’re cold.” They said when the urge to reach out and hug Enjolras became too strong. They couldn’t mess this up. 

“Oh… I didn’t realise that it got so late, I’m sorry I kept you out here.” Grantaire chuckled softly.

“I’m living here remember?” Enjolras ducked his head, cheeks colouring as he realised his mistake. “Where will you go?”

“I have a friend who has a place where I can stay with while I sort out something more permanent. It’s further on than your cave and I was heading there this morning so I can just go there. I’ll come back tomorrow though!” Enjolras rambled, brightening up when he thought about seeing Grantaire again but their doubtful expression made it obvious that they didn’t believe him. “I will! I really enjoyed talking to you today and you’re my friend now.”

Grantaire’s hollow laugh stuck in their throat, not wanting to ruin this moment with their cynicism. “It was amazing to meet you too Enjolras.”

Enjolras broke into a large smile, happiness lighting up his whole face making it the most beautiful Grantaire had ever seen. They smiled back in response, head spinning with how cute he was and the fact that Enjolras seemed to like them. Enjolras moved away, waving shyly at Grantaire as he did so and it was only when he had almost turned away from the cave that they raised their arm and waved back, not stopping until Enjolras had swam out of view. 

They retreated back into the cave and for once went to sleep with the hope that things that be changing. 

 

Enjolras did come back the next day. And the day after that. And the day after the day after that. Soon a week passed and the merman still continued to visit Grantaire. Every day he would bring some food with him. And every day Grantaire was wondering why the blond was still here. 

One evening it was just too much. They looked at Enjolras and finally asked him. But the merman only shook his head with a smile and said that he was there because he liked Grantaire. They didn't believe him. 

They talked and argued late into the night.

Grantaire was rather surprised when they woke up next day and saw Enjolras sitting on the stone next to them. His eyes were closed and he was playing with his long hair. R smiled slightly and stretched their arms. It was nice that the merman had stayed here. When they turned around, Enjolras was staring at them with his huge blue eyes. Grantaire could feel that they were blushing. 

''Did you sleep here?” they only asked, because they knew that if they tried to say something more, they'd probably say something stupid, like “you're hot” or “I want you to kiss me''. 

''Yes, I did.'' Enjolras blushed and smiled as if he recalled some memory. ''You… you really like cuddling, don't you?'' 

Oh fuck. No, no, they couldn't do this. They knew that sometimes they had ended up trying to hug their siblings in their sleep and every time they had been violently pushed away. And they had touched Enjolras with their pincers. They wanted to die. 

''I'm so sorry, Enjolras! I have this problem – I don't really control my movements when I sleep. I'm sorry.”

The blond chuckled. “Don't be. I kinda liked it, to be honest.'' 

He liked it. He liked their hug. Grantaire was staring at the merman in disbelief. 

And when they didn't reply, Enjolras spoke again. ''My parents never really hugged me. There were no goodnight kisses, no sleeping with my mum.'' he sighed and for the moment Grantaire thought he was crying. But when the blond looked up at them, there was a smile on his face. 

In the morning light, Grantaire could see every detail of Enjolras' face framed by the rays of light, the green, blue, pink and yellow freckles, his long lashes and red lips. Oh, they wanted to kiss those lips so much.

They coughed embarrassed by their own thoughts . ''Well… same here. I don't really know my mother and as I told you – my father hates me.'' 

''Do you want me to hug you?'' Enjolras said and immediately he added – ''I just…  I just thought that… if both of us didn't get many hugs in the past, maybe we can cuddle now? God, I probably sound like a creep.''

Did they want him to hug them? Yes, they did. But they couldn't. Not with their pincers and everything. They shrank back slightly, trying to angle their body away. 

''I'm sorry… Forget I said it.'' Enjolras said quickly. His face was just as red as his tail.

Grantaire didn't say anything. They just got up and leaned against the stone wall of the cave. Before they could react, Enjolras was next to them propping himself on the tip of his tail.

''Are you planning to stay here forever? Or do you think you’ll go back? Your father seems to miss you…''

''No… I don't know… Maybe I'll stay here… Forever?'' they muttered.

''You should come with me. To my friends. We’re trying to protest against the favouritism that merfolk have.”

No, they shouldn't. There was no way Enjolras' friends would accept them.

''I can hear you thinking, Grantaire.'' the blond smiled ''They're not that bad. Maybe a little bit loud and they love hugs and jokes, but they're good. And they want to meet you. Come with me, R. Please.''

So Enjolras told his friends about them. Great. And even if they agreed and went with the blond, they would only disappoint him and his friends. They were sure that Enjolras described them with superlatives. And they were a disappointment. Disappointment with pincers and ugly tail.

''Grantaire… please.''

Disappointment with pincers and ugly tail and… a hope?

''Fine…I'll go with you.''

Maybe fortune had finally smiled on them?

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> we hope you liked it and we're sorry


End file.
